The present invention relates to a steering wheel cover assembly for use in automotive vehicles, and more particularly to an annular wheel cover having arcuate metal segments adapted to be held in place around the wheel cover with a circumferentially spaced relationship.
The arcuate metal segments are formed from sheet metal and provided with a multiplicity of small protrusions functioning to therapeutically massage palm regions of the human body.
It is conventional in the automobile industry to make use of wheel covers in order to minimize or avoid any slipping between the outer surface of the steering wheel and the palm of the automobile driver. State-of-the art wheel covers are typically equipped with arcuate metal segments extending circumferentially along a limited length of the cover.
A multiplicity of protrusions are formed on the metal segment in such a desired pattern as to enhance anti-slipping effect. Then, the metal segment is subjected to rolling operation to form an elongate wrap-around member of interrupted circular cross-section. The member is finally flexed to conform to the curvature of the steering wheel as it is secured to the wheel cover by means of rivetting, bonding and the like. However, such a prior art wheel cover as stated above was disadvantageous in that a plethora of radial pleats or wrinkles are necessarily produced along the circumference of the metal segment in the course of bending and then securing the metal segment to the wheel cover. These wrinkles tend to provide the automobile driver with poor feeling, which may jeopardize safe driving of the automotive vehicle in the worst circumstance. Furthermore, the plethora of wrinkles may weaken or limit the ability of the metal segment to retain its engagement with the wheel cover, thereby causing the metal segment to be separated from the cover.